Free trips to New Zealand offered to 100 tech workers

Tech developer Nick Piesco poses for a photo in Wellington, New Zealand Friday, March 10, 2017. Local authorities and businesses are offering free trips to New Zealand for 100 tech workers from around the globe as they seek to boost the city's growing tech hub. (AP Photo/Nick Perry)
(The Associated Press)

Tech developer Nick Piesco poses for a photo in Wellington, New Zealand Friday, March 10, 2017. Local authorities and businesses are offering free trips to New Zealand for 100 tech workers from around the globe as they seek to boost the city's growing tech hub. (AP Photo/Nick Perry)
(The Associated Press)

WELLINGTON, New Zealand – It sounds almost too good to be true: A free trip to New Zealand to interview for a job in the tech sector.

But that's what local authorities and businesses in the capital, Wellington, are offering to 100 talented workers from around the globe as they seek to boost the city's growing tech hub. The idea has caught fire, with 12,000 people completing applications so far and thousands more registering interest ahead of the March 20 deadline.

Successful applicants get free flights to New Zealand and free accommodation during their four-day stay in Wellington. They also get to see some of the sights and meet tech leaders. They are expected to apply for three jobs each but aren't obliged to accept any offers.